Yarn fluid treatment apparatus



C. E. HALLDEN, JR

YARN FLUID TREATMENT APPARATUS Filed NOV. 1, 1961 FIG.!

April 9, 1963 FIG.3

INVENTOR CARL E. HALLDEN, JR.

BY Z z v ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,984,413 YARN FLUID TREATMENTAPPARATUS Carl E. Hallden, Ilia, Avondale, Fa, assignor to E. I. du Pontde Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of DelawareFiled Nov. 1, 1961, Ser. No. 149,268 3 Claims. (Cl. 281) This inventionrelates to an apparatus to be used in treating a bundle of filamentssuch as a yarn to produce a bulky strand composed of a plurality ofindividually convoluted filaments, and is more particularly concernedwith jets for producing bulky yarn by fluid treatment.

Artificial fibers are normally produced most easily as continuousfilaments. Their extreme uniformity and lack of discontinuity makesconventional textile filament yarns much more dense than yarns made fromstaple fibers. The production of yarns from staple fibers, however, istime-consuming and requires a complex series of operations. The occludedair spaces in staple fiber yarns gives them a lightness, covering power,and warmthgiving bulk not normally possible with continuous filamentyarns.

I Bulky yarns enhance the fullness of woven and knit fabrics, as well asaffect other functional properties of textile materials.

The bulk, covering power, and recoverable elongation of continuousfilament yarns have been greatly improved by a variety of mechanicaland/ or heat-setting processes. A most important new product in thisarea is textured yarn of the type described in U.S. Patent No. 2,783,609issued March 5, 1957, to Breen. Its production involves exposing afilamentary material to a rapidly moving turbulent fluid to introduce amultitude of crunodal filament loops at random intervals along theindividual filaments. These loops and snarls of entangled loops,together with other convolutions, increase the bulk of continuousfilament yarns considerably and result in fabrics of improved cover,bulk, handle, and the like. Another technique is described in BelgianPatent No. 573,230, dated November 22, 1958, to the assignee of thepresent application, in which yarns are introduced into a plasticizingstream of a compressible fluid under turbulent conditions and thefilaments are individually crimped into a curvilinear threedimensionalconfiguration. The effectiveness of these new bulking processes dependsupon special apparatus for achieving the desired treatment withturbulent fluid. A new apparatus or jet has now been discovered forutilizing the above turbulent fluid techniques more effectively and toproduce improved yarn products with highly useful properties.

An object of this invention is to provide a new fluid jet apparatus forproducing bulky yarns of the type and in accordance with the generalprocess disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 2,783,609 to Breen. Another objectis to provide an apparatus which is more effective for bulking heavydenier yarns than apparatus previously devised for the fluid jettechnique of the Breen patent. Still another object is to provide a newfluid jet for treating yarn which eliminates the need for manualadjustment of the jet by the operator during the texturing operation.Other objects will become apparent from the disclosure and claims.

In the drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of theinvention,

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of jet apparatus as used for treating yarn,

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of the jet, the left side corresponding tothe elevation of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation view of the jet embodiment shown in FIGURE2, and

FIGURE 4 is a view corresponding to that of FIGURE 2 of a modified formof jet.

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FIGURE 1 illustrates a typical arrangement of apparatus of thisinvention for treating yarn. Yarn 11 to be treated is fed at acontrolled rate, determined by feed rolls 12 and 13, through :anappropriate guide 14 and into the jet 15. Air for treating the yarn issupplied to the jet through duct 16 from a source of compressed air, andleaves the jet with the yarn. The textured yarn 17 pro duced iswithdrawn at right angles to the jet exit air stream and in a directionaway from the jet body at la rate controlled by take-up rolls 18 and19'.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the jet is suitably made in two parts, a bodymember 20 and a front plate 21, which are fastened together in properorientation with suitable screws 22 or other fasteners.

Referring to FIGURE 3, the body 20 is drilled with a passageway 23 forair or other compressed fluid which is admitted through supply duct 16.The front plate 21 is machined to provide a straight inlet throat 24 forentry of "the untreated yarn and a larger texturing chamber 25 fortreating the yarn which is preferably rectangular in cross-section atright angles to the principal axis of the chamber. The face of body 20forms one side of both the inlet throat and the texturing chamber.Throat or passage 24 leads the yarn into the texturing chamber 25, wherethe yarn is immediately penetrated by the fluid stream entering thechamber from fluid duct 16. The zone of turbulence so created exerts anopening action on the yarn components, so that the filaments are formedinto loops and whorls by the action of the fluid.

In operation, air is supplied under a pressure which provides a highvelocity through texturing chamber 25. A zone of turbulence is createdbetween the exit of the fluid duct and the inner end of the texturingchamber as the fluid rushes into this zone. Yarn is fed into the zone ofturbulence from the yarn inlet throat 24 where it is agitated violently,whipped about, and exits from the texturing chamber 25 along with thehigh velocity air. The yarn is removed from the air stream immediatelyupon issuing from the texturing chamber 25 by withdrawing it in thedirection away from the face of the body 20. It is important that theapparatus have dimensions such that the air or other suitablecompressible fluid utilized v will have a velocity equal to at least /2sonic velocity and preferably approaches sonic velocity where it firststrikes the yarnin the zone of turbulence 25, and that thecrosssectional area of the exit of the texturing chamber be ofsuflicient size to minimize back pressure in the yarn inlet withoutsubstantially decreasing yarn velocity in the zone of turbulence.

The angular relationship of the fluid duct to the texturing chamber ishighly important to the operation of the jet As shown in FIGURE 3, thefluid duct 2'3 approaches the face of the'body 20 at an angle of about30, in the general direction of yarn travel, to forward the yarn. Anglesin the range of 20 to 45 are suitable for this purpose. As shown inFIGURE 2, the axis of the duct is in a plane which is at right-angles tothe body face and is skewed at an agle 5 with respect to the axis of theyarn passage. This angle must be within critical limits for productionof textured yarn of the type referred to in COnnection with Breen U.S.Patent No. 2,783,609. When the angle 5 is less than 10 crunodal loopsare not produced. For textur-izing Dacron polyester yarn (polyethyleneterephthalate), the angle is preferably about 35 and not less than 20.Angles up to about 45 are satisfactory.

Angles of less than 10 are useful for crimping yarn with steam or otherplasticizing fluid, as described in the referenced Belgian Patent No.573,230, when the formation of crunodal loops is not desired. Thecrimping treatment can be carried out with B angles from 0 to 10. Thedesired angularity can be provided in various ways,

and an alternative embodiment is illustrated in FIGURE 4, wherein thesignificance of the numbers is the same as in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3discussed above.

It has also been found necessary that the terminal portion of the sideof the texturing chamber opposite to the 4 The over-feed rate of theyarns will depend upon the character of the feed yarn as Well as theparticular characteristics desired in the product. Overfeeds as high as120% or higher have been used effectively.

fluid entrance be tapered outwardly to provide a yarn and a particularlgpreferred as a gaming begause its c eapness an convenience. owever, eateair, ig fg ig fi 222 g 25 3 5 233? i i gi fi superheated or saturatedsteam or any other suitable cornshortened in FIGURE 3 is less than 7".This angle of i i tf g j il gt t t1 outward taper is preferably about 10for texturizing 19 H mg ac.1on ls.app.am us aparenfly nylon preferablyabout for texturizing results from the manner in which the high velocityfluid pols/Ester yam, and not more than However, it has acts on theindividual yarn filaments as the yarn passes again been found thatdifferent conditions apply to crirnp 'f the Zone of turbulence' appearsthat Y ing with steam or other plasticizing fluid; angles of 2 to Isopenfid allclbulked more efiectlvely (1113 to h actlon of 7 are suitableand angles up to 45 can be used. the fluid striking the yarn at an oblque angle in the zone The width of the texturing chamber 25 should be ofturbulence. Not only are the individual filaments Withslightly narrowerthan the fluid inlet opening so that the in the yarn bundle separatelywhipped about and ranedges partially overlap the fluid opening asillustrated in domly twisted so that they become intimately entangledFIGURES 2 and 4. The absolute and relative dimensions and interlockedwith adjacent filaments but at the same of the yarn inlet throat 24 andthe teX-turing chamber 25 i are f d jntg loops d h l uniformly may b vag tti tfgirlty s 3, 1 p g g 11 2 dleslfed through the yarn bundle toprovide the desired bulking treatment, u 6 6X llflllg 6 am Q1115 e algefaction. Apparently, a fluid vortex is also formed which 9 advantageof'lhls apparatus 15 the .efiectlveness causes intermingling andinterlocking of fibers within the Processmg a grejat g i t of Y liwlthoult 9 yarn bundle, so that the yarn bundle itself remains cohesltyof l l z g c i g g g sf f f g s g sive under moderate tension after itis removed from the a yarn in e u e apparatus denier from about 440 to2000 or more may be readily 1 a a processed using a texturing chamberwidth of 0.067 inch. gj g g and gnterllnmglmg i yam An optimum dimensiondepends upon the yarn being proct a f F may i reason L13 fipparzftus 1Sessed and the degree of texturing desired. Typical Widths partcularlysultaole for bukmg heavy demer Polyester for the texturing chamber runfrom 0.04 inch to 0.08 inch. y Treatment of 811 a y hp f a P F The Widthof yarn inlet is preferably considerably smaller Y bundle which IsCoherent and iurtflel" Processabie and can be varied from 0.02 up to0.05. the same manner as a unitary strand. Previously known For maximumoperability, the cross-sectional area of fluidtreating apparatuses forbulking yarns are less effecthe texturing chamber should be at least 25%greater tive, particularly for the texturing of heavy denier polythanthe CI'OSS-SGCtiOnal area. of the duct The ester yarns of 10W ,dgnierper filament Be ause of the ratio 1 cgosls'secfional areas can be Variedmore efficient bulking and unifying results produced by tween 1 up 0 Ithe apparatus of this invention, the feed yarn may be y i l f 3 251 23?2322 yglfi in i g xg g; 40 twisted or untwisted, and the product may betwisted or yarns including polyamides e g' poly(epsflon caproank not, asdesired. Where a zero twist yarn is fed to the ide), poly(hexamethyleneadipamide); cellulose esters; apparatus pwduct 1S a bulked yam which thepolyesters, e'g', Polyethylene terephthalate, poly(hexa ments are intermngled and interlocked with one another ,terephthalate); polyethylene,polyvinyls. besides beinguniforrnly loopy throughout, and there is andpolyacrylics, e.g., polyacrylonitrile, as -Well as copolyno need toIWISt 11115 Product l further Processingmers thereof, are particularlysuitable for producing the The examples of the following tableillustrate repreuniformly bulked products described herein. While thesentative bulking conditions for processing yarn with the preferred formof material is continuous filaments, the apparatus illustrated: processand resultant improvements occur with staple yarns as Well. Both typesof materials can be made into 5 Typwal Bulkmg C(mdtmns Air Skew ChamberYarn Example Yarn Pressure, Angle B Angel or Windup Overfeed,

p.s.i.g. in FIG. 2, in FIG. 3, Speed, Percent degrees degrees y.p.m.

Polyester 1100/450/0 35 20 100 25 Polyester 1100/250/0..-

35 20 100 25 S" 3% i8 28 i e O Nylon 800/140/1/2Z s0 35 20 100 2Cellulose Acetate 1800/8B/0.. superheated 2 7 151 52 Steam.

bulky yarns and fabrics having improved bulk, covering In this table,the yarn descriptions refer to total denier, power (opacity), and hand.number of filaments, and twist for the feed yarn being fil pp l i tli Sare usefulllfor gf h l treated. Polyester refers to polyethyleneterephthalate amellt Y 111 1 6 emers as as e earlier yarns. Nylon refersspecifically to polyhexamethylene- Farpet and lndustnal Y S1Zes e1therSmgly if combinedt adipamide yarn. The extent of the bulking actioncould gag}: y zfr gs i i gjg gg f g fi ss ii :52 be increased ordecreased as desired by varying the peri O I A Cruciform, Y-shaped,delta-shaped, ribbon, and dumbbell g g up or down from Values shown Inthe and other non-round filamentary cross-sections can be processed atleast as well as round filaments and usually Smce dlfferent @bOdlmentsof ths 1I Went1On may contribute still more bulk than is obtained withround be f departmg from i f F 9 filaments. The jet and passagestherethrough can be f thereof, it is to be understood that the inventionis not sufficient size to handle multiple ends of yarn, either inlimited by the p llluflmtlons BXCBPt the extent the form of warp sheets,ribbons, or tows. cfi 1n the following Clalms- I claim:

1. In apparatus for making bulky yarn which comprises jet means fortreating yarn with fluid, yarn feeding means for passing yarncontinuously through the jet for treatment, and fluid supply means forflowing compressible fluid through the jet at a velocity of at least /2sonic velocity in contact with the yarn to separate yarn filaments andform them into convolutions; the improved jet means characterized byhaving a texturing chamber with generally rectangular cross-section atright angles to the principal axis of the chamber (path of yarn travelthrough the chamber) and with inlet and outlet openings at opposite endsof said axis, said inlet opening having a straight throat of smallercross-sectional area than the chamber for entry of yarn and one face ofthe throat in the same plane as one chamber face, and a fluid duct forintroducing the treating fluid into the chamber through said chamberface; the axis of the duct being in a plane, which plane is at rightangles to said chamber face, the axis of the duct being at an angle tosaid face of from 20 to 45 in the general direction of yarn travel andbeing skewed at an angle of up to 45 to the principal axis of thechamber; the side of the chamber opposite to said fluid duct having aterminal portion tapering outwardly 6 at an angle at 2 to 45' providingan outlet of increasing cross-sectional area.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said jet comprises a bodymember and a front plate fastened on one face of the body, saidtexturing chamber and said yarn inlet throat being cut into the frontplate with the face of the body member forming the one side of each, andsaid fluid duct being drilled through the body memher.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said front plate is skewedrelative to said duct to provide an angle of from 10 to 45 between theprincipal aXis of the texturing chamber and a plane passing through theaxis of the fluid duct so as to be at right angles to the face of thebody member, and wherein said texturing chamber increases in depthtoward the chamber outlet at an angle of 7 to relative to said body faceto provide an outward taper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. IN APPARATUS FOR MAKING BULKY YARN WHICH COMPRISES JET MEANS FORTREATING YARN WITH FLUID, YARN FEEDING MEANS FOR PASSING YARNCONTINUOUSLY THROUGH THE JET FOR TREATMENT, AND FLUID SUPPLY MEANS FORFLOWING COMPRESSIBLE FLUID THROUGH THE JET AT A VELOCITY OF AT LEAST 1/2SONIC VELOCITY IN CONTACT WITH THE YARN TO SEPARATE YARN FILAMENTS ANDFORM THEM INTO CONVOLUTIONS; THE IMPROVED JET MEANS CHARACTERIZED BYHAVING A TEXTURING CHAMBER WITH GENERALLY RECTANGULAR CROSS-SECTION ATRIGHT ANGLES TO THE PRINCIPAL AXIS OF THE CHAMBER (PATH OF YARN TRAVELTHROUGH THE CHAMBER) AND WITH INLET AND OUTLET OPENINGS AT OPPOSITE ENDSOF SAID AXIS, SAID INLET OPENING HAVING A STRAIGHT THROAT OF SMALLERCROSS-SECTIONAL AREA THAN THE CHAMBER FOR ENTRY OF YARN AND ONE FACE OFTHE THROAT IN THE SAME PLANE AS ONE CHAMBER FACE, AND A FLUID DUCT FORINTRODUCING THE TREATING FLUID INTO THE CHAMBER THROUGH SAID CHAMBERFACE; THE AXIS OF THE DUCT BEING IN A PLANE, WHICH PLANE IS AT RIGHTANGLES TO SAID CHAMBER FACE, THE AXIS OF THE DUCT BEING AT AN ANGLE TOSAID FACE OF FROM 20* TO 45* IN THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF YARN TRAVEL ANDBEING SKEWED AT AN ANGLE OF UP TO 45* TO THE PRINCIPAL AXIS OF THECHAMBER; THE SIDE OF THE CHAMBER OPPOSITE TO SAID FLUID DUCT HAVING ATERMINAL PORTION TAPERING OUTWARDLY AT AN ANGLE AT 2* TO 45* PROVIDINGAN OUTLET OF INCREASING CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA.